If our congress cannot come to an agreement on a new budget plan that eliminates billions of dollars in spending, then the government will be shutdown for an unknown period of time. The deadline for congress to come to an agreement is Friday, April 8th at midnight. However, there is skepticism that the Democrats and the Republicans can come together and agree on a new budget in time – neither party, it appears, is ready to make any compromises.
Should the government shutdown, federally funded agencies such as national museums, parks, and zoos will be closed, and hundreds of thousands of federal employees will be forced to stay home and not work. For these people, it means they will not be getting a pay check, which could be very damaging to some families. Further effects of a government closure are left to be determined, however, some think that a government closure will have a global effect.
This would not be the first time the government has been closed. The last time the this has happened was in 1995. During this year, the government shutdown for five full days, and was partially shutdown for another 21 days. For more information on this story, go here.